Shaha Husain loves all things Hyderabadi. At the top of the list? The food. She grew up devouring the culinary delights of her hometown in India, but still was not prepared for how much she would miss it after leaving as a newly married young woman. So she learned to cook. It was helpful as she raised her three children in Canada. She eventually applied her skills to other projects too. For seven years, Shaha ran her own specialty food company in Toronto with her son, Samie. Under the brand Mezban, they produced and marketed a line of chutneys and sauces, all of which Shaha personally developed. Their products were carried in fine food stores across Canada, the US and the UK. In 1996, in just their second year of operation, Mezban won a Canadian Fine Food Award. The appeal of their sauces led to a lucrative catering deal supplying the café of a national retailer with a seven-bean salad based on Mezban’s Vindaloo sauce. Shaha has also taught cooking classes, and in 2003 she completed the Culinary School of Management Diploma (Chef’s Training Course) at George Brown College in Toronto.